WEBVTT

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You know, all aspects of life,

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I live as an artist inside

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me.

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At times, it's fascinating.

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At others, it's quite unbearable.

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Keeping a journal, it's like meeting

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head-on this person inside me.

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Writing, it's like confronting the issues

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that emerge in the process of

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paintings.

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Also, I hope that words will

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help me understand the logic

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behind the urges that prepare me

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to make art, urges over which

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I have no control whatsoever.

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Summer.

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The arrival of spring is always

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surprising.

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Its abruptness is breathtaking.

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One day the soil is frozen

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and unyielding and the next day

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the broccoli is going to seed.

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In contrast, the only way to

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notice the arrival of summer is

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to notice that everything attains its

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full potential.

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The canopy of trees are filled

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in.

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There is an abundance of eggs

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to collect in the chicken coop.

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For me, the fullness of summer

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declares itself in the studio, when

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I can spend uninterrupted days and

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nights torturing myself in endless attempts

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to understand where I am going

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to with my work.

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Producing the current body of work

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is testing.

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The smell of terp reminds me

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that I exist.

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A slow process of inspirations and

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reservations.

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The nude and nature.

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Both have been exhausted as subjects

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of artistic endeavour.

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Faith keeps me going.

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Faith that one day I will

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understand the whys.

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That one day it will all

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make sense.

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By definition, faith is an act

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of the imagination that allows us

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to accept that which cannot be

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proven.

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and my imagination is working overtime

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creating assurances.

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I consider myself extremely fortunate to

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be able to work with some

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sort of wilderness around me, even

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though the studio's windows can present

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alluring disruptions.

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In the spring, a wagtail built

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her nest in the apple tree.

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I was busy at the easel

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when my eyes caught a slight

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movement outside.

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A bird was hovering, holding a

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piece of straw in the tip

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of her beak, until she carefully

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placed it in the half-built nest

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on a solid branch.

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For a long time she returned

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again and again with assortments of

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fine straw, spiderweb, bark and tiny

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twigs.

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When she was satisfied with her

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creation, she sat down on top

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of the little stack and wiggled

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her wings and belly to shape

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it into a respectable little habitat.

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Now there are three chicks in

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the nest, waiting with open mouths

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for her to feed them.

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Around me are two or three,

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sometimes six or seven paintings in

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different stages of completion, each with

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its own rhythm, each an adventurous

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journey of arranging, splattering and

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gathering.

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This is how I start.

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Sort of like the outline, the

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sketch, the highlights, the lights.

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And now I'm going to cover

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it all.

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And hopefully,

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sort of halo, and then whatever

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I'll do later, any contrast or

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different color, there will always be

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something that will unify, and will

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give it sort of the light.

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So I'm going to do an

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even thing of yellow.

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Well, I can probably take a

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big brush and just spread it

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like somebody that paints a wall.

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But I'm not going to do

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it because I sort of like

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maintain the illusion that there is...

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I don't think it's an illusion

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actually.

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I do think that even though

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I work with layers and layers

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and layers, every layer makes a

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difference.

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And having it uneven creates more

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textures, more possibilities for light.

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But anyway, that's my excuse.

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But it also allows me to

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think of what I'm going to

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do next and where am I

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coming with this.

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Splattering came along as a way

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of reducing the tedious layering of

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oil glazes, not as automatic gestures

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like the Surrealists, more like a

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Pollock-style attack on the canvas.

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It is the most physical aspect

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in the process of painting,

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I need to control the image.

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However, splattering is the stage in

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which I let go, the wild

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phase between the structural and the

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considered.

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Next, I'd work to bring together

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the scattered marks from this chord

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to a chord, to find hints

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of the original structure, and with

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measured brushstrokes, will it into completion.

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And now I have to find

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a painting again.

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So, I'm going to look first

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for the movement.

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And the trick here, it's quite

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tricky, because this is water-based paint,

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and this is oil.

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So it needs to be still

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wet, but not very wet.

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The painting, I mean.

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I do it very lightly and

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look for the movement that was

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here once.

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The reason for this white is

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that it sort of illuminates it.

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It comes instead of the light.

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So right now I'm trying to

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constantly think where the light is

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coming from in this painting and

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try to concentrate on the areas

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that will be more white.

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It is my first drought on

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the land.

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Never before have I felt the

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burden of the possibility of no

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water.

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Over the last year we have

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watched the water in our river

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dwindle.

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I take the Nikon and record

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pink, black and lime green stripes

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on the edge of the bank

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and on exposed rocks.

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I enjoy the aesthetics, but I

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watch the watercress on the water's

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surface in horror, like a beast

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at prey on its hunt, the

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weeds await to overtake the next

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patch of clear water.

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Chet Baker's husky voice penetrates the

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night.

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He sings, I mortgage my castles

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in the air.

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The line resonates with shattered hopes.

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I like the wording.

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I collect sentences.

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I write them down on scraps

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of paper, on empty pages in

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books, in my blank black books,

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on the back of bookmarks.

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It's like taking photographs.

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While looking through the lens and

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framing the scene, the image registers

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somewhere, stored, till unconsciously I find

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a use for it.

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From time to time, on cold

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winter nights or very hot afternoons,

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I go through my photographs and

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recognise how many of them had

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served unwittingly as reference for my

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artworks.

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In contrast, the sentences I collect

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stay chaotic on shelves and in

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drawers.

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Perhaps they are unwittingly incorporated in

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the things I write or say.

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Last night I dreamed of a

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painting, a very large white canvas

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with a beautifully rendered small figure

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in the upper left corner.

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I cling to the feeling it

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gave me.

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Sometimes in my dreams I paint

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paintings that are just perfect.

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Yet in the studio I cannot

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replicate the quality or the atmosphere.

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I'm never sure if those images

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were so good because they just

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were, or because they were never

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created.

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I enjoy painting nude women.

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I take pleasure in discovering how

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to relate body to soil.

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For hours I watch the canvas

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on which the paint has no

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reason.

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The marks I made the day

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before make no sense.

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Gradually, without much effort, shapes and

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textures reveal themselves.

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I mix lots of different colours

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into grey.

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I love creating greys with just

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a nuance of pink, yellow or

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purple, which set up vibrations.

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Any surface devoid of colour as

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it may be, teems with activity

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of colliding colours.

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But why paint the nude in

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the twenty-first century?

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I resist the urge to look

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for interpretation.

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Only traces of summer are left

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to be registered.

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It's the last week of summer,

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yet the heat shows no indication

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of letting go.

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Again and again, when the heat

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is unbearable, I find myself longing

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for words.

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There are times when I hold

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onto words like a woman drowning,

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hoping that the rumbling of words

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will pave a path back to

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the easel.

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Other times I believe that the

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repetitive movements of the brush will

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sort out my precarious state.

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During those times, when I'm not

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sure how to put one foot

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in front of the other, I

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believe that somehow I'll paint my

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way into being an inspired person.

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After I re-read the journal and

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selected segments for this video,

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I notice the parallel between the

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changing season and the various aspects

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of making art.

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Summer is about reaching fullness.

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Outside in the valley, everything would

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have achieved its full potential.

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And in the studio, I'll spend

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full days making and thinking art.

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Autumn is about summing up and

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preparation.

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Outside, everything will be preparing for

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winter.

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nature for its winter sleep or

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beauty sleep and the people for

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the cold.

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I do the final touches on

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painting and I prepare for coming

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exhibitions.

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Autumn.

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A few weeks ago it seemed

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unbelievable that the leaves should be

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changing their colour or that frosts

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will cover the morning landscape.

00:12:05.078 --> 00:12:07.699 align:center
Now the Chinese tallow has turned

00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:09.720 align:center
shades of russet and the golden

00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:11.300 align:center
elm, true to its name, has

00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.161 align:center
turned golden yellow.

00:12:14.622 --> 00:12:15.722 align:center
Daylight is retracting.

00:12:17.083 --> 00:12:18.743 align:center
In the mornings the dew stays

00:12:18.823 --> 00:12:21.344 align:center
longer, the wind is cooler and

00:12:21.384 --> 00:12:22.965 align:center
the chickens go to roost earlier

00:12:23.045 --> 00:12:23.525 align:center
every day.

00:12:24.966 --> 00:12:27.367 align:center
In contrast to city life, here

00:12:27.407 --> 00:12:28.307 align:center
it is not the drop of

00:12:28.407 --> 00:12:29.808 align:center
temperature that marks the end of

00:12:29.868 --> 00:12:30.128 align:center
summer.

00:12:31.099 --> 00:12:33.006 align:center
Rather, it is the sound of

00:12:33.186 --> 00:12:36.498 align:center
chainsaw preparing firewood and the beat

00:12:36.778 --> 00:12:38.003 align:center
of an axe splitting it.

00:12:40.101 --> 00:12:41.062 align:center
The first time I went to

00:12:41.102 --> 00:12:43.324 align:center
the desert, I was surprised by

00:12:43.364 --> 00:12:45.326 align:center
the lack of sweeping sand dunes.

00:12:46.487 --> 00:12:48.409 align:center
The parched desert that surrounds the

00:12:48.449 --> 00:12:51.352 align:center
Dead Sea is more like fossilised

00:12:51.492 --> 00:12:52.793 align:center
sand ridges and mounds.

00:12:53.634 --> 00:12:55.295 align:center
They form a maze of ravines

00:12:55.375 --> 00:12:57.297 align:center
and valleys that frame the basin

00:12:57.337 --> 00:12:58.138 align:center
of the Salty Lake.

00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:00.981 align:center
An awesome place where only a

00:13:01.061 --> 00:13:02.923 align:center
scorpion can hear you sing and

00:13:02.963 --> 00:13:04.784 align:center
only an eagle's cry might disturb

00:13:04.804 --> 00:13:05.385 align:center
the silence.

00:13:07.793 --> 00:13:08.674 align:center
The first time I went to

00:13:08.694 --> 00:13:11.436 align:center
the Australian desert, I was surprised

00:13:11.496 --> 00:13:12.957 align:center
by the lushness of the country.

00:13:14.178 --> 00:13:15.439 align:center
But it was neither the unusual

00:13:15.599 --> 00:13:18.121 align:center
flora nor the exotic fauna, neither

00:13:18.181 --> 00:13:20.083 align:center
the dramatic colours of rugged cliffs

00:13:20.403 --> 00:13:22.545 align:center
nor the texture of scrublands that

00:13:22.625 --> 00:13:23.125 align:center
seized me.

00:13:24.186 --> 00:13:25.187 align:center
It was the quality of the

00:13:25.267 --> 00:13:25.547 align:center
light.

00:13:27.028 --> 00:13:29.230 align:center
It washed over stones baking for

00:13:29.430 --> 00:13:31.292 align:center
eons in the unrelenting sun.

00:13:33.067 --> 00:13:35.548 align:center
It altered space and transformed time.

00:13:36.349 --> 00:13:37.009 align:center
It was as if I had

00:13:37.069 --> 00:13:38.550 align:center
walked into my own paintings and

00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:39.850 align:center
ambled among the pigments.

00:13:43.812 --> 00:13:45.453 align:center
I have discovered the joys of

00:13:45.593 --> 00:13:47.434 align:center
circling the paddock on a ride-on

00:13:47.534 --> 00:13:47.814 align:center
mower.

00:13:49.414 --> 00:13:51.355 align:center
I climb onto the rover, adjust

00:13:51.395 --> 00:13:52.556 align:center
the level of the blade, and

00:13:52.696 --> 00:13:53.216 align:center
off I go.

00:13:54.297 --> 00:13:55.757 align:center
The grass is usually home to

00:13:55.797 --> 00:13:56.918 align:center
a plethora of insects.

00:13:58.070 --> 00:13:59.371 align:center
As the ride on advances, I

00:13:59.411 --> 00:14:02.532 align:center
watch weeds, grass cave in, and

00:14:02.572 --> 00:14:04.953 align:center
an army of panicked creatures running

00:14:05.013 --> 00:14:05.753 align:center
for their lives.

00:14:06.974 --> 00:14:08.755 align:center
The setting sun caught the tips

00:14:08.815 --> 00:14:10.796 align:center
of the grass, and the circles

00:14:10.876 --> 00:14:11.996 align:center
turned to bronze.

00:14:13.337 --> 00:14:14.717 align:center
From a distance they looked like

00:14:14.897 --> 00:14:17.218 align:center
metal puddles in an expanse of

00:14:17.339 --> 00:14:20.160 align:center
lime-green moss, or perhaps they looked

00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.121 align:center
like bronze buttons on a velvet

00:14:22.201 --> 00:14:22.621 align:center
garment.

00:14:23.721 --> 00:14:24.622 align:center
By the time I could get

00:14:24.662 --> 00:14:25.082 align:center
the camera,

00:14:25.792 --> 00:14:27.813 align:center
The sun had withdrawn her generosity,

00:14:28.334 --> 00:14:29.694 align:center
leaving the paddock the colour of

00:14:29.714 --> 00:14:30.135 align:center
ash.

00:14:34.497 --> 00:14:36.318 align:center
All that grass inspired two new

00:14:36.378 --> 00:14:39.180 align:center
paintings, another duo in the series

00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:40.621 align:center
of concave-convex.

00:14:42.182 --> 00:14:44.723 align:center
I find the idea of concave-convex

00:14:45.304 --> 00:14:45.804 align:center
intriguing.

00:14:47.662 --> 00:14:49.443 align:center
The very same line that creates

00:14:49.583 --> 00:14:53.064 align:center
concave automatically creates convex, two

00:14:53.164 --> 00:14:53.584 align:center
opposites,

00:14:54.044 --> 00:14:55.845 align:center
each existing by virtue of the

00:14:55.905 --> 00:14:56.105 align:center
other.

00:14:58.086 --> 00:14:59.206 align:center
While I was debating whether to

00:14:59.226 --> 00:15:00.426 align:center
head toward the studio or the

00:15:00.466 --> 00:15:02.387 align:center
river, the quality of the light

00:15:02.967 --> 00:15:04.528 align:center
convinced me to proceed to the

00:15:04.548 --> 00:15:04.848 align:center
former.

00:15:07.029 --> 00:15:08.209 align:center
If only I could capture the

00:15:08.249 --> 00:15:09.449 align:center
glow that engulfed the valley.

00:15:10.510 --> 00:15:11.790 align:center
The sun had just moved behind

00:15:11.830 --> 00:15:13.291 align:center
the dark clouds that were threatening

00:15:13.451 --> 00:15:14.071 align:center
all afternoon.

00:15:15.435 --> 00:15:16.876 align:center
The sight was dramatic, but the

00:15:16.917 --> 00:15:19.779 align:center
light was soft, somehow diluted by

00:15:19.819 --> 00:15:20.400 align:center
the cool air.

00:15:22.983 --> 00:15:24.044 align:center
On one easel a painting of

00:15:24.104 --> 00:15:26.106 align:center
tracks, on another a nude.

00:15:27.847 --> 00:15:30.070 align:center
Which painting should receive the yellow-pink

00:15:30.170 --> 00:15:30.510 align:center
light?

00:15:32.692 --> 00:15:34.955 align:center
Both paintings refused to accept the

00:15:34.995 --> 00:15:35.235 align:center
light.

00:15:37.545 --> 00:15:38.846 align:center
When I paint, I follow a

00:15:38.966 --> 00:15:40.607 align:center
course which I trace roughly at

00:15:40.647 --> 00:15:41.487 align:center
the start of the work.

00:15:42.127 --> 00:15:44.108 align:center
I follow this course carefully, watching

00:15:44.148 --> 00:15:45.049 align:center
for new terrains.

00:15:45.909 --> 00:15:47.910 align:center
These new places are what make

00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:48.931 align:center
the process interesting.

00:15:50.351 --> 00:15:51.832 align:center
There are times when I explore

00:15:51.852 --> 00:15:53.453 align:center
a new territory I might lose

00:15:53.493 --> 00:15:53.913 align:center
the path.

00:15:54.353 --> 00:15:56.234 align:center
I get carried away by texture,

00:15:56.734 --> 00:15:58.575 align:center
details, or both, and I don't

00:15:58.675 --> 00:16:00.776 align:center
notice that what I did makes

00:16:00.816 --> 00:16:01.457 align:center
the work weak.

00:16:02.756 --> 00:16:03.836 align:center
When I discover that I went

00:16:03.856 --> 00:16:05.257 align:center
too far in the wrong direction,

00:16:05.817 --> 00:16:06.837 align:center
that I must go back to

00:16:06.857 --> 00:16:08.218 align:center
the fork in the road, that

00:16:08.238 --> 00:16:10.719 align:center
I must cover my tracks, I

00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:12.239 align:center
need to be brave and destroy

00:16:12.319 --> 00:16:14.640 align:center
sections of the painting that by

00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:16.600 align:center
themselves might be great achievements.

00:16:21.022 --> 00:16:21.962 align:center
I look at the tracks I

00:16:22.042 --> 00:16:22.783 align:center
actually paint.

00:16:24.063 --> 00:16:25.463 align:center
They become a metaphor for the

00:16:25.523 --> 00:16:26.864 align:center
tracks I follow in the process

00:16:26.884 --> 00:16:27.324 align:center
of painting.

00:16:28.770 --> 00:16:30.010 align:center
I let the painting ask the

00:16:30.050 --> 00:16:31.551 align:center
question and hope that it will

00:16:31.591 --> 00:16:33.211 align:center
refuse inappropriate answers.

00:16:33.712 --> 00:16:36.052 align:center
I proceed slowly, not to miss

00:16:36.112 --> 00:16:36.672 align:center
a new angle.

00:16:37.093 --> 00:16:39.073 align:center
Carefully I lay a paint, as

00:16:39.153 --> 00:16:40.874 align:center
if not to cause its demise.

00:16:41.334 --> 00:16:42.334 align:center
I don't want to cover my

00:16:42.394 --> 00:16:42.714 align:center
tracks.

00:16:43.074 --> 00:16:44.295 align:center
I want to see through the

00:16:44.395 --> 00:16:47.156 align:center
luminous opacity which is the surface

00:16:47.196 --> 00:16:47.916 align:center
of the canvas.

00:16:50.317 --> 00:16:51.437 align:center
This way of working is more

00:16:51.477 --> 00:16:51.957 align:center
considered.

00:16:52.917 --> 00:16:54.658 align:center
There is humility to it.

00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:58.580 align:center
The painting of tracks has refused

00:16:58.620 --> 00:16:59.981 align:center
to be submerged in water.

00:17:01.881 --> 00:17:03.142 align:center
This morning I entered the studio

00:17:03.182 --> 00:17:05.442 align:center
with determination to reclaim my authority

00:17:05.582 --> 00:17:05.882 align:center
over it.

00:17:06.942 --> 00:17:08.603 align:center
Many hours later, having limited my

00:17:08.663 --> 00:17:10.463 align:center
horizon to the large rectangle of

00:17:10.483 --> 00:17:12.904 align:center
the canvas, I stepped back and

00:17:13.024 --> 00:17:14.164 align:center
saw that it was good.

00:17:15.665 --> 00:17:16.985 align:center
But the painting is far from

00:17:17.025 --> 00:17:17.865 align:center
being tamed.

00:17:18.705 --> 00:17:21.086 align:center
This inanimate object made out of

00:17:21.226 --> 00:17:24.567 align:center
stretched linen and paint is unquestionably

00:17:24.747 --> 00:17:25.587 align:center
in charge.

00:17:27.533 --> 00:17:29.174 align:center
But because what replaced my original

00:17:29.254 --> 00:17:32.315 align:center
idea was quite exciting, I decided

00:17:32.395 --> 00:17:33.896 align:center
to follow what was emerging.

00:17:38.798 --> 00:17:41.679 align:center
Winter is about urbanation, and I

00:17:41.739 --> 00:17:44.800 align:center
call this dormant state an invigorating

00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:45.481 align:center
snooze.

00:17:46.721 --> 00:17:48.902 align:center
Outside the bird trees would have

00:17:49.042 --> 00:17:50.723 align:center
opened the landscape and give it

00:17:51.063 --> 00:17:52.323 align:center
another dimension.

00:17:53.584 --> 00:17:55.725 align:center
And I call this combination

00:17:56.912 --> 00:17:59.293 align:center
For me, this combination of openness

00:17:59.573 --> 00:18:02.155 align:center
and inactivity invites inspiration.

00:18:02.175 --> 00:18:06.537 align:center
I would spend hours watching the

00:18:06.657 --> 00:18:09.118 align:center
fire consuming wood in the combustion

00:18:09.158 --> 00:18:09.618 align:center
stove.

00:18:10.258 --> 00:18:12.599 align:center
I read, I take long walks,

00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.861 align:center
and although the progress of paintings

00:18:16.941 --> 00:18:20.203 align:center
in the studio is noticeably slower,

00:18:20.223 --> 00:18:23.805 align:center
I can sense new ideas brewing

00:18:23.885 --> 00:18:24.485 align:center
inside me.

00:18:27.127 --> 00:18:31.209 align:center
The rhythmic sound of a cargo

00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:32.529 align:center
train on its way north or

00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:34.450 align:center
south echoes from the ridges.

00:18:34.490 --> 00:18:38.011 align:center
I like the silence that follows

00:18:38.051 --> 00:18:39.452 align:center
the last freight carriage.

00:18:42.393 --> 00:18:44.094 align:center
Working from a studio situated in

00:18:44.114 --> 00:18:45.594 align:center
the middle of a paddock, I

00:18:45.654 --> 00:18:47.115 align:center
reflect on my wandering.

00:18:48.444 --> 00:18:50.226 align:center
I trace journeys made over decades

00:18:50.306 --> 00:18:52.167 align:center
on other continents in different cultures

00:18:52.227 --> 00:18:52.828 align:center
and languages.

00:18:53.428 --> 00:18:55.290 align:center
I try to find links to

00:18:55.330 --> 00:18:57.992 align:center
find metaphoric expressions which will bridge

00:18:58.132 --> 00:19:00.474 align:center
personal and geographical landscape.

00:19:01.895 --> 00:19:04.417 align:center
Physical and human mobility have provided

00:19:04.557 --> 00:19:05.918 align:center
context for my artwork.

00:19:06.919 --> 00:19:08.380 align:center
Moving around the world is part

00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:09.201 align:center
of my heritage.

00:19:10.342 --> 00:19:11.102 align:center
As I look back at my

00:19:11.142 --> 00:19:13.244 align:center
family history, I see a tension

00:19:13.284 --> 00:19:15.566 align:center
between memories and experiences.

00:19:16.987 --> 00:19:18.669 align:center
When one needs to or is

00:19:18.749 --> 00:19:20.331 align:center
forced to move, this is the

00:19:20.392 --> 00:19:22.334 align:center
time when fantasies struggle with what

00:19:22.394 --> 00:19:23.195 align:center
is tangible.

00:19:24.317 --> 00:19:25.658 align:center
Images take shape in our minds

00:19:25.698 --> 00:19:26.640 align:center
and we search for them in

00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:28.202 align:center
the new place we call home.

00:19:29.644 --> 00:19:31.406 align:center
I wish to make paintings that

00:19:31.446 --> 00:19:32.708 align:center
will mirror such thoughts.

00:19:35.792 --> 00:19:37.713 align:center
In winter, the light is forever

00:19:37.773 --> 00:19:41.815 align:center
changing, lingering frosted dawns pursued by

00:19:41.955 --> 00:19:44.376 align:center
short intervals of sunshine, which are

00:19:44.416 --> 00:19:47.178 align:center
brutally interrupted by stretched-out dusks.

00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.580 align:center
In winter, the sun skirts about

00:19:51.620 --> 00:19:53.621 align:center
the day like an unwanted refugee

00:19:53.701 --> 00:19:55.422 align:center
tracing the periphery of a promised

00:19:55.482 --> 00:19:55.862 align:center
land.

00:19:57.282 --> 00:19:58.423 align:center
There's no better place to watch

00:19:58.463 --> 00:19:59.724 align:center
the sun being chased away by

00:19:59.764 --> 00:20:01.705 align:center
the approaching darkness as on top

00:20:01.745 --> 00:20:02.605 align:center
of the burning mountains.

00:20:04.185 --> 00:20:05.405 align:center
After a climb through a typical

00:20:05.465 --> 00:20:06.986 align:center
Australian bush, a change.

00:20:07.926 --> 00:20:10.107 align:center
Dozens of dead trees lie, roots

00:20:10.187 --> 00:20:12.028 align:center
exposed where they fell not so

00:20:12.088 --> 00:20:12.608 align:center
long ago.

00:20:12.628 --> 00:20:15.009 align:center
The forest floor is barren.

00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:17.289 align:center
Only gum trees grow in this

00:20:17.369 --> 00:20:19.910 align:center
earth, baked by an underground burning

00:20:20.030 --> 00:20:20.991 align:center
seam of coal.

00:20:22.351 --> 00:20:24.112 align:center
Undernourished, they gave in to the

00:20:24.152 --> 00:20:25.092 align:center
power of gravity.

00:20:26.072 --> 00:20:27.133 align:center
Shadows blend.

00:20:27.973 --> 00:20:29.794 align:center
The pale light that penetrates the

00:20:29.894 --> 00:20:33.175 align:center
thin canopies above creates an atmosphere

00:20:33.215 --> 00:20:33.695 align:center
of doom.

00:20:35.513 --> 00:20:36.634 align:center
I think about the images of

00:20:36.794 --> 00:20:38.074 align:center
trees I painted in which I

00:20:38.194 --> 00:20:39.995 align:center
undertook to liberate the image from

00:20:40.075 --> 00:20:43.257 align:center
gravity, about the images of shadows

00:20:43.357 --> 00:20:46.759 align:center
cast upon barren landscape, which enables

00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:49.100 align:center
me to introduce an action which

00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:50.961 align:center
was taking place outside the canvas.

00:20:52.462 --> 00:20:53.882 align:center
The overall hue of the scenery

00:20:53.942 --> 00:20:55.243 align:center
I look at is the colour

00:20:55.263 --> 00:20:58.044 align:center
of ashen brown, and along the

00:20:58.084 --> 00:21:00.165 align:center
trail are patches of burnt earth

00:21:00.285 --> 00:21:03.207 align:center
turned ochre rust, yellow and white.

00:21:04.613 --> 00:21:05.934 align:center
the very same colours I used

00:21:05.974 --> 00:21:08.435 align:center
to create those images years ago.

00:21:10.216 --> 00:21:11.817 align:center
By late afternoon we'd reached the

00:21:11.877 --> 00:21:13.517 align:center
white, smouldering summit.

00:21:14.258 --> 00:21:15.598 align:center
From where I'd stand the view

00:21:15.618 --> 00:21:18.000 align:center
was of rolling green hills extending

00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:21.361 align:center
east, south, west and north into

00:21:21.401 --> 00:21:23.322 align:center
the horizon which tinted them blue.

00:21:24.523 --> 00:21:26.544 align:center
Scores of kangaroos watch me in

00:21:26.584 --> 00:21:27.104 align:center
bewilderment.

00:21:27.825 --> 00:21:29.425 align:center
The white ash is dotted by

00:21:29.485 --> 00:21:30.586 align:center
their black droppings.

00:21:31.802 --> 00:21:33.063 align:center
The ground on which I stand

00:21:33.103 --> 00:21:34.823 align:center
looks like the surface of Mars.

00:21:35.443 --> 00:21:37.344 align:center
Deep cracks in the rock emit

00:21:37.684 --> 00:21:40.045 align:center
hot air which smells odiously of

00:21:40.125 --> 00:21:40.505 align:center
sulphur.

00:21:43.327 --> 00:21:45.427 align:center
When my father died, I dedicated

00:21:45.447 --> 00:21:46.948 align:center
to him a ten metres commission,

00:21:47.648 --> 00:21:49.889 align:center
the playground, an urban detail.

00:21:51.390 --> 00:21:53.090 align:center
A place in which children play

00:21:53.211 --> 00:21:53.791 align:center
and imagine.

00:21:54.791 --> 00:21:56.452 align:center
A place where dreams and fears

00:21:56.552 --> 00:21:59.233 align:center
create patterns and leave their marks.

00:22:01.643 --> 00:22:03.144 align:center
Up to several years ago, I

00:22:03.164 --> 00:22:05.405 align:center
had always lived in cities, major

00:22:05.445 --> 00:22:07.307 align:center
cities like New York, Vienna and

00:22:07.347 --> 00:22:07.647 align:center
Sydney.

00:22:08.207 --> 00:22:09.108 align:center
When I was a little girl

00:22:09.188 --> 00:22:11.289 align:center
in Tel Aviv, we played hopscotch

00:22:11.369 --> 00:22:13.651 align:center
on paved footpaths and built castles

00:22:13.731 --> 00:22:15.232 align:center
in cemented sandboxes.

00:22:16.773 --> 00:22:17.853 align:center
Life in a city was living

00:22:17.913 --> 00:22:20.655 align:center
among jarring opposites and complex tensions.

00:22:22.356 --> 00:22:24.598 align:center
In the playground, I set out

00:22:24.618 --> 00:22:26.439 align:center
to examine this mixture of forces

00:22:26.479 --> 00:22:27.960 align:center
through the games children play.

00:22:29.598 --> 00:22:30.839 align:center
It was an opportunity to bring

00:22:30.899 --> 00:22:32.380 align:center
father to the studio, to a

00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:33.681 align:center
world he was unable to make

00:22:33.721 --> 00:22:34.121 align:center
his own.

00:22:35.322 --> 00:22:36.623 align:center
It was my way of acknowledging

00:22:36.663 --> 00:22:38.204 align:center
the seeds he had planted in

00:22:38.244 --> 00:22:39.365 align:center
the child he took to see

00:22:39.385 --> 00:22:41.666 align:center
the meagre collections in Tel Aviv's

00:22:41.727 --> 00:22:42.927 align:center
museums and galleries.

00:22:44.589 --> 00:22:45.729 align:center
It was a tribute to his

00:22:45.849 --> 00:22:48.091 align:center
cultured spirit that had surfaced despite

00:22:48.131 --> 00:22:49.672 align:center
deprived circumstances.

00:22:53.475 --> 00:22:54.315 align:center
Leslie walked over.

00:22:55.296 --> 00:22:57.437 align:center
His beaming face held a promise

00:22:57.498 --> 00:22:58.078 align:center
of delight.

00:22:59.535 --> 00:23:00.715 align:center
He took hold of my hand

00:23:00.795 --> 00:23:02.116 align:center
and gently directed me to the

00:23:02.156 --> 00:23:03.056 align:center
back of the studio.

00:23:04.236 --> 00:23:05.417 align:center
The sky was grey.

00:23:06.057 --> 00:23:06.997 align:center
The light was grey.

00:23:07.917 --> 00:23:09.078 align:center
The air was cool.

00:23:10.478 --> 00:23:11.739 align:center
The feeling of his hand in

00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:12.759 align:center
mine was warm.

00:23:14.699 --> 00:23:16.480 align:center
We reached the back fence where,

00:23:16.540 --> 00:23:18.521 align:center
hidden among the wild fennel, was

00:23:18.561 --> 00:23:19.841 align:center
a large echidna.

00:23:21.540 --> 00:23:22.620 align:center
We stood there looking at the

00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:23.521 align:center
confused creature.

00:23:24.441 --> 00:23:25.241 align:center
I could hear the song of

00:23:25.321 --> 00:23:27.542 align:center
birds, the rustle of leaves and

00:23:27.622 --> 00:23:29.403 align:center
swaying of branches in the gathering

00:23:29.463 --> 00:23:29.763 align:center
wind.

00:23:31.244 --> 00:23:32.664 align:center
I could hear the faint sound

00:23:32.704 --> 00:23:33.765 align:center
of the distant highway.

00:23:35.365 --> 00:23:37.446 align:center
I think of Thoreau and how

00:23:37.486 --> 00:23:38.787 align:center
he rejoiced in the sounds he

00:23:38.827 --> 00:23:39.887 align:center
would hear in Walden.

00:23:40.847 --> 00:23:42.968 align:center
He wrote, I love a broad

00:23:43.088 --> 00:23:44.209 align:center
margin to my life.

00:23:45.809 --> 00:23:48.470 align:center
Perhaps I think my life consists

00:23:48.730 --> 00:23:50.211 align:center
only of broad margins.

00:23:54.104 --> 00:23:55.504 align:center
Spring is about new growth.

00:23:56.105 --> 00:23:58.425 align:center
In the studio, the shift from

00:23:58.865 --> 00:24:01.166 align:center
winter to spring is very subtle.

00:24:02.046 --> 00:24:03.787 align:center
I make lists of new paintings

00:24:03.827 --> 00:24:04.747 align:center
that I want to make.

00:24:05.187 --> 00:24:07.928 align:center
There will be new beginnings of

00:24:08.068 --> 00:24:10.569 align:center
canvases scattered around the studio.

00:24:10.909 --> 00:24:11.989 align:center
This is the time that I

00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:14.330 align:center
watch the movement of the brush

00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:17.891 align:center
that is gaining momentum, and I

00:24:18.371 --> 00:24:20.572 align:center
take cues from the marks it

00:24:20.632 --> 00:24:21.572 align:center
leaves on the canvas.

00:24:22.347 --> 00:24:23.587 align:center
for future direction.

00:24:24.647 --> 00:24:27.048 align:center
And when summer comes, it's usually

00:24:27.108 --> 00:24:27.808 align:center
too fast.

00:24:27.988 --> 00:24:29.288 align:center
In my head, I'm still waiting

00:24:29.328 --> 00:24:30.028 align:center
for winter.

00:24:31.889 --> 00:24:32.589 align:center
Spring.

00:24:35.409 --> 00:24:37.530 align:center
The arrival of spring is in

00:24:37.590 --> 00:24:38.450 align:center
fact a non-event.

00:24:39.630 --> 00:24:40.630 align:center
It happens every year at the

00:24:40.670 --> 00:24:41.871 align:center
same time and in the same

00:24:41.931 --> 00:24:42.151 align:center
way.

00:24:43.211 --> 00:24:44.711 align:center
Yet it is always sudden and

00:24:44.751 --> 00:24:45.231 align:center
exciting.

00:24:46.731 --> 00:24:48.172 align:center
Everything seems to have acquired a

00:24:48.212 --> 00:24:49.412 align:center
complexion of optimism.

00:24:50.427 --> 00:24:51.548 align:center
It is a season of now

00:24:51.588 --> 00:24:52.668 align:center
you see it, now you don't,

00:24:52.748 --> 00:24:53.708 align:center
as well as now you don't

00:24:53.768 --> 00:24:54.569 align:center
see it, now you do.

00:24:56.250 --> 00:24:58.611 align:center
Overnight, grass and clover have regained

00:24:58.631 --> 00:25:00.851 align:center
their dominance over the frost-bitten brown

00:25:01.072 --> 00:25:01.432 align:center
paddock.

00:25:02.692 --> 00:25:04.473 align:center
While I blink, the wooden veins

00:25:04.533 --> 00:25:06.894 align:center
of bare trees acquire a green

00:25:06.974 --> 00:25:07.374 align:center
blush.

00:25:08.455 --> 00:25:09.535 align:center
A snake is out, and then

00:25:09.555 --> 00:25:11.016 align:center
it disappears in a flash in

00:25:11.036 --> 00:25:12.036 align:center
the thicket next to the river.

00:25:13.477 --> 00:25:15.918 align:center
Birds materialise out of trees and

00:25:16.078 --> 00:25:18.159 align:center
vanish as mysteriously as they appear.

00:25:20.228 --> 00:25:22.489 align:center
New clusters of daffodils emerged under

00:25:22.509 --> 00:25:24.089 align:center
the tortured willow where the earth

00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:25.990 align:center
was covered with decomposing leaves.

00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:29.031 align:center
The Hebrew name for daffodil is

00:25:29.611 --> 00:25:32.092 align:center
Narcissus, derived from Narcissus.

00:25:32.812 --> 00:25:34.873 align:center
The myth of Narcissus is about

00:25:34.973 --> 00:25:35.593 align:center
ambiguity.

00:25:36.394 --> 00:25:38.654 align:center
The relationship between the object and

00:25:38.714 --> 00:25:40.875 align:center
its reflection is uncertain.

00:25:41.796 --> 00:25:44.516 align:center
Narcissus contemplates his own reflection but

00:25:44.556 --> 00:25:45.857 align:center
does not know his own image.

00:25:48.156 --> 00:25:50.137 align:center
I painted a reclining woman reflected

00:25:50.197 --> 00:25:50.737 align:center
in water.

00:25:51.757 --> 00:25:53.498 align:center
But it felt not quite right.

00:25:54.178 --> 00:25:55.218 align:center
I covered the reflection.

00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:58.400 align:center
I did not like the clear

00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:00.160 align:center
relationship between the body and its

00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:01.020 align:center
reflected image.

00:26:01.941 --> 00:26:03.121 align:center
I would like the water to

00:26:03.161 --> 00:26:06.222 align:center
become a boundary between worlds rather

00:26:06.262 --> 00:26:08.483 align:center
than a surface that mirrors sameness.

00:26:10.617 --> 00:26:12.038 align:center
I name the painting I'm currently

00:26:12.078 --> 00:26:14.220 align:center
working on, The Memory of Water.

00:26:15.341 --> 00:26:17.082 align:center
The canvas is divided into three,

00:26:17.523 --> 00:26:18.644 align:center
but none of the parts is

00:26:18.704 --> 00:26:19.084 align:center
solved.

00:26:19.965 --> 00:26:22.267 align:center
I find water difficult to paint.

00:26:23.608 --> 00:26:24.849 align:center
I must change attitude.

00:26:25.209 --> 00:26:26.090 align:center
I need new tricks.

00:26:26.470 --> 00:26:27.791 align:center
To be able to paint water

00:26:28.112 --> 00:26:30.093 align:center
is to think about colour rather

00:26:30.133 --> 00:26:31.935 align:center
than about form or texture.

00:26:33.316 --> 00:26:34.877 align:center
Usually when painting, I consider the

00:26:34.917 --> 00:26:36.518 align:center
source of light and its effects.

00:26:37.561 --> 00:26:38.425 align:center
Now I need to think in

00:26:38.486 --> 00:26:40.777 align:center
terms of fragmented colors and broken

00:26:40.898 --> 00:26:41.461 align:center
patterns.

00:26:43.597 --> 00:26:45.958 align:center
I made small black-and-white sketches for

00:26:45.978 --> 00:26:47.978 align:center
The Way of Water, a six-metre

00:26:48.038 --> 00:26:51.299 align:center
quartet portraying three worlds, underwater,

00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:52.220 align:center
surface

00:26:52.580 --> 00:26:53.220 align:center
and reflection.

00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:55.741 align:center
I ordered the four panels and

00:26:55.781 --> 00:26:58.521 align:center
made mental lists of waterscapes I

00:26:58.541 --> 00:27:00.422 align:center
should observe next week on my

00:27:00.522 --> 00:27:01.622 align:center
visit to Mutwingi.

00:27:02.663 --> 00:27:03.563 align:center
I was already there.

00:27:04.883 --> 00:27:07.344 align:center
I smelt decomposing dry gum leaves

00:27:07.844 --> 00:27:09.905 align:center
seeping from between cracks in the

00:27:09.945 --> 00:27:10.725 align:center
large boulders.

00:27:12.413 --> 00:27:15.794 align:center
I touched hot, crumbling sandstones on

00:27:15.814 --> 00:27:16.774 align:center
the way for a swim in

00:27:16.794 --> 00:27:17.434 align:center
a rock pool.

00:27:18.754 --> 00:27:19.914 align:center
By the time I'd get back

00:27:19.954 --> 00:27:21.155 align:center
the canvases should be ready.

00:27:23.235 --> 00:27:24.315 align:center
I woke up early to see

00:27:24.395 --> 00:27:26.376 align:center
sunrise above the silhouetted ranges.

00:27:27.396 --> 00:27:28.996 align:center
The moon was like a silver

00:27:29.156 --> 00:27:30.937 align:center
opening in the great arc of

00:27:30.957 --> 00:27:31.957 align:center
the indigo sky.

00:27:33.457 --> 00:27:34.597 align:center
I tried to hold onto the

00:27:34.657 --> 00:27:36.638 align:center
nightscape before the sun would disperse

00:27:36.678 --> 00:27:37.918 align:center
the ambiguity of colours.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:41.381 align:center
I crawled out of the swag,

00:27:41.981 --> 00:27:43.982 align:center
found my boots, and set off

00:27:44.022 --> 00:27:45.462 align:center
to climb the nearby range.

00:27:46.743 --> 00:27:48.544 align:center
The golden orb to the east

00:27:48.604 --> 00:27:51.845 align:center
was emerging slowly, covering the landscape,

00:27:52.225 --> 00:27:53.165 align:center
soft pinks.

00:27:54.626 --> 00:27:56.047 align:center
I liked the idea that where

00:27:56.107 --> 00:27:58.167 align:center
I stood only birds and crawling

00:27:58.227 --> 00:27:59.328 align:center
insects could see me.

00:28:01.921 --> 00:28:03.923 align:center
In the paddock we have three

00:28:04.183 --> 00:28:06.505 align:center
large planters which Leslie cut out

00:28:06.525 --> 00:28:08.206 align:center
of an old ten thousand gallon

00:28:08.246 --> 00:28:08.866 align:center
water tank.

00:28:09.907 --> 00:28:12.129 align:center
They became containers for primary colours.

00:28:13.170 --> 00:28:14.951 align:center
In the yellow planter I planted

00:28:14.991 --> 00:28:18.554 align:center
daffodils, poppies, calla lilies, Jerusalem

00:28:18.614 --> 00:28:19.074 align:center
sage,

00:28:19.614 --> 00:28:22.877 align:center
Spanish broom, Japanese rose, a grevillea

00:28:23.337 --> 00:28:24.198 align:center
and a dwarf wattle.

00:28:25.580 --> 00:28:28.403 align:center
In the red planter, poppies, Jacobean

00:28:28.523 --> 00:28:33.228 align:center
irises, lilies, gladiolus, dahlias, a tea

00:28:33.268 --> 00:28:35.691 align:center
tree, a grevillea and a dwarf

00:28:35.751 --> 00:28:36.271 align:center
bottle brush.

00:28:37.733 --> 00:28:39.374 align:center
In the blue planter, love in

00:28:39.414 --> 00:28:42.998 align:center
the mist, Dutch irises, Russian sage,

00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:46.682 align:center
lavenders, salvias and a wisteria.

00:28:48.715 --> 00:28:51.418 align:center
According to Alexander Thoreau, blue is

00:28:51.478 --> 00:28:53.159 align:center
the rarest color in nature.

00:28:54.080 --> 00:28:55.361 align:center
Yellow is linked to the sun,

00:28:56.042 --> 00:28:57.763 align:center
and red is the most popular

00:28:57.803 --> 00:28:58.424 align:center
color of all.

00:29:00.433 --> 00:29:01.873 align:center
In my list of primary colours,

00:29:02.614 --> 00:29:04.034 align:center
blue is the colour I use

00:29:04.054 --> 00:29:06.454 align:center
to create space, the colour of

00:29:06.494 --> 00:29:09.035 align:center
the sky and the abyss, shadows

00:29:09.095 --> 00:29:11.816 align:center
and royalty, the colour of school

00:29:11.936 --> 00:29:13.756 align:center
uniform and distant mountains.

00:29:15.076 --> 00:29:15.877 align:center
It is the colour of the

00:29:15.937 --> 00:29:17.297 align:center
numbers tattooed on the arms of

00:29:17.337 --> 00:29:19.177 align:center
the Holocaust survivors, the colour of

00:29:19.317 --> 00:29:21.278 align:center
ash and the tongue of the

00:29:21.338 --> 00:29:21.618 align:center
lizard.

00:29:22.879 --> 00:29:25.021 align:center
Deep water and melancholia.

00:29:26.102 --> 00:29:27.984 align:center
There is blue cheese, blue movies

00:29:28.124 --> 00:29:29.766 align:center
and blue Arabs who roam parts

00:29:29.806 --> 00:29:30.527 align:center
of the Sahara.

00:29:32.343 --> 00:29:33.604 align:center
Yellow is the colour I use

00:29:33.624 --> 00:29:36.146 align:center
to paint light of starving lawn

00:29:36.226 --> 00:29:37.987 align:center
and of shrubs lacking in iron.

00:29:39.028 --> 00:29:41.510 align:center
Yellow is also for illumination, wisdom,

00:29:41.870 --> 00:29:42.831 align:center
lemon and butter.

00:29:43.751 --> 00:29:46.093 align:center
Tara's tennis balls and the cloth

00:29:46.153 --> 00:29:47.614 align:center
star Jews had to place on

00:29:47.634 --> 00:29:48.294 align:center
their sleeves.

00:29:49.475 --> 00:29:50.796 align:center
The colour of our cottage and

00:29:50.876 --> 00:29:54.539 align:center
Indian curry, gold and hay, jealousy

00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:55.259 align:center
and healing.

00:29:56.100 --> 00:29:57.881 align:center
Then there is yellow fever, yellow

00:29:57.981 --> 00:30:00.703 align:center
river, yellow sea and yellow submarine.

00:30:01.844 --> 00:30:03.985 align:center
Yellow pages and yellow press.

00:30:06.345 --> 00:30:07.566 align:center
Red is the colour I paint

00:30:07.626 --> 00:30:08.766 align:center
the blank canvas with.

00:30:09.666 --> 00:30:11.187 align:center
The ground from which the image

00:30:11.247 --> 00:30:11.747 align:center
emerges.

00:30:12.807 --> 00:30:13.887 align:center
It's the colour of blood and

00:30:13.947 --> 00:30:16.328 align:center
tomatoes, of love and death, of

00:30:16.428 --> 00:30:18.489 align:center
strawberries and Chinese lanterns.

00:30:19.589 --> 00:30:22.510 align:center
Stop signs and Catholic ceremonial dress.

00:30:23.590 --> 00:30:25.110 align:center
Exciting, aggressive.

00:30:25.911 --> 00:30:27.371 align:center
And the colour of girls' first

00:30:27.471 --> 00:30:27.871 align:center
shoes.

00:30:28.651 --> 00:30:30.372 align:center
The colour of fire and Matisse's

00:30:30.432 --> 00:30:30.872 align:center
studio.

00:30:32.170 --> 00:30:34.173 align:center
iron and the rock and menstruation.

00:30:35.655 --> 00:30:36.957 align:center
And then there are red backs,

00:30:37.077 --> 00:30:39.240 align:center
red lines and red lights, the

00:30:39.280 --> 00:30:40.882 align:center
red army, the red brigades, the

00:30:40.922 --> 00:30:42.945 align:center
red guards and red wrens.

00:30:44.847 --> 00:30:46.209 align:center
The ways of water is completed.

00:30:47.495 --> 00:30:49.216 align:center
For over two months my world

00:30:49.256 --> 00:30:52.117 align:center
was confined to four large rectangles

00:30:52.577 --> 00:30:55.058 align:center
with hardly any reflection or examination.

00:30:56.299 --> 00:30:57.940 align:center
With apprehension I looked forward to

00:30:57.980 --> 00:30:59.721 align:center
seeing if the panels worked together

00:31:00.301 --> 00:31:02.422 align:center
and complied with my original intentions.

00:31:03.982 --> 00:31:05.883 align:center
Leslie stretched a steel wire across

00:31:05.923 --> 00:31:07.864 align:center
the studio between the ironbark posts

00:31:08.284 --> 00:31:10.165 align:center
and hanged the painting like clean

00:31:10.245 --> 00:31:11.806 align:center
clothes out of the washing machine.

00:31:13.267 --> 00:31:13.927 align:center
I held my breath.

00:31:15.775 --> 00:31:17.155 align:center
What I saw rendered my earlier

00:31:17.175 --> 00:31:18.236 align:center
trepidations irrelevant.

00:31:19.416 --> 00:31:21.857 align:center
Yet it remained in the atmosphere.

00:31:23.217 --> 00:31:24.397 align:center
So I asked Leslie how he

00:31:24.437 --> 00:31:25.478 align:center
felt about the painting we had

00:31:25.498 --> 00:31:25.958 align:center
just hung.

00:31:27.318 --> 00:31:28.759 align:center
He looked at me bemused and

00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:30.259 align:center
said he did not understand my

00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:30.639 align:center
doubts.

00:31:35.501 --> 00:31:36.661 align:center
Summer is almost here.

00:31:38.341 --> 00:31:40.142 align:center
These days the sun sets slowly.

00:31:40.688 --> 00:31:42.129 align:center
as if wishing to postpone its

00:31:42.169 --> 00:31:43.449 align:center
appointment with the horizon.

00:31:44.510 --> 00:31:46.530 align:center
The light disappears gradually.

00:31:47.571 --> 00:31:49.512 align:center
Unlike in winter days, in summer

00:31:50.152 --> 00:31:51.692 align:center
it's easy to see when day

00:31:51.753 --> 00:31:53.293 align:center
finishes and night begins.

00:31:54.414 --> 00:31:57.015 align:center
The vanishing light sucks the colours

00:31:57.095 --> 00:31:57.715 align:center
out of the valley.

00:31:59.336 --> 00:32:02.057 align:center
We are submerged in silence, as

00:32:02.117 --> 00:32:04.118 align:center
if everything stops in anticipation of

00:32:04.158 --> 00:32:05.978 align:center
the coming night, wishing not to

00:32:06.038 --> 00:32:07.579 align:center
disturb the cosmic motion.

00:32:10.327 --> 00:32:11.548 align:center
Only when night comes and the

00:32:11.588 --> 00:32:13.650 align:center
stars appear can we sense the

00:32:13.710 --> 00:32:16.392 align:center
landscape breathing a sigh of relief.

00:32:18.634 --> 00:32:19.635 align:center
I never had an answer to

00:32:19.675 --> 00:32:21.316 align:center
the question, how do you know

00:32:21.376 --> 00:32:22.517 align:center
a painting is finished?

00:32:23.398 --> 00:32:23.918 align:center
Now I know.

00:32:24.959 --> 00:32:26.820 align:center
An artwork is finished when I

00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:27.941 align:center
don't want to let go of

00:32:28.001 --> 00:32:29.282 align:center
it, when I know in my

00:32:29.382 --> 00:32:31.864 align:center
body that it is finished, yet

00:32:31.924 --> 00:32:33.486 align:center
I don't want to stop working

00:32:33.586 --> 00:32:33.746 align:center
on it.

